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April 7, 2004

Francona: No Pedro Problem.Tito: "I'll tell you, I wasn't that shook up about it. Yes, I talked with him this morning, and it's not an issue. I think he felt comfortable with leaving early. We have a policy, but this is not boot camp. These are grown men who work hard every day." ... And: "He was not called in on the carpet. I just wanted to make sure everyone's on the same page." ... And: "As big a deal as it was [to the media], it wasn't earth-shattering [to me]." ... I think we can put this "incident" to rest -- after some words from Bruce Allen.

Keith Foulke on his nine-pitch 9th inning: "This was more my style of pitching today. That stuff down in Florida, I'm not really sure what that was." ... Kevin Millar suffered a bloodied bridge of the nose and a swollen upper lip after colliding with Johnny Damon. He plans to play tonight. .. Manny Ramirez left yesterday's game with a right quadriceps strain and is "day to day." Ramirez said he hurt himself diving back into second base to avoid a tag after David Ortiz singled in the second inning. "I hit the ground pretty hard." ... Is the Manny batting third era over?

Hardball Times: Five questions for the Red Sox and the Yankees. ... Kaz Matsui became the 18th player to hit the first pitch he saw in the major leagues for a home run. He finished the night 3-for-3 with the homer, two doubles, three RBIs and two walks. ... After diving for a foul pop, Twins rookie catcher Joe Mauer needs arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. ... This just in: Michael Kay is still a total dick.